Reciprocating slat conveyors comprise a plurality of elongated conveyor slats that are disposed side-by-side and are divided into "sets" and "groups." A typical conveyor includes three sets "1," "2," "3" and at least eight groups. Each group includes a slat from set "1" next to a slat from set "2" that is next to a slat from set "3." All of the set "1" slats are connected to a first transverse drive beam. All of the set "2" slats are connected to a second transverse drive beam. All of the set "3" slats are connected to a third transverse drive beam. Each of the transverse drive beams is connected to a separate hydraulic drive unit. The hydraulic drive units are operated in unison to move the three transverse drive beams, and hence all of the slats, in unison, in a first direction for conveying a load. Then the drive units are operated one at a time in the opposite direction to retract the transverse drive beams one at a time and, hence, retract the conveyor slats one set at a time. Example prior art reciprocating slat conveyors are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,893, granted Jun. 7, 1988, to Raymond Keith Foster, and entitled Drive/Frame Assembly For A Reciprocating Floor, and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,054, granted Sep. 27, 1994, also to Raymond Keith Foster, and entitled Ball Block For Mounting Linear Motor.
Prior art conveyor slats are constructed from both plastic and metal. A fiber reinforced plastic slat, formed by pultrusion, is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,672, granted Mar. 17, 1998 to Raymond Keith Foster, and entitled Pultruded Conveyor Slat And Pultrusion Method. Example aluminum slats are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,929, granted Nov. 22, 1988, to Raymond Keith Foster and entitled Bearing System For Reciprocating Floor Conveyor. Example structural plastic slats are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,222, granted Sep. 5, 1995, to Raymond Keith Foster, and entitled Plastic Floor Slat For Reciprocating Conveyor, and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,798, granted Apr. 12, 1994, to Arthur L. Wilkins, and entitled Reciprocating Floor Conveyor For Coptic Materials. In the prior art conveyors, the slats are removably connected to the transverse drive beams by use of screw fasteners which extend through the conveyor slats and screw into connector members on the transverse drive beams. A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved connection between the conveyor slats and the transverse drive beams. The conveyor slat connectors of the present invention are especially useful for connecting plastic or composite conveyor slats to metal connectors.